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On day three we returned to France and visited Pontarlier once again. Our aim was to find some evidences for the legendary history of the town. We knew that the old Pernod distillery is now used by Nestlé, and therefore we checked out if we still could find some old parts of the former building. We could not enter the factory site, but based on old postcards we looked for the famous oval windows which should be visible from the bordering streets. Our second station was the Deniset distillery.

After a very nice evening with the Green Fairy (little fairies dancing in my head..) the agenda for our second day was the absinthe Festival in Boveresse. Our hotel was in the nearby town Couvet which is also known for its absinthe roots. For example in the times of the Belle Epoque Pernod Fils had a second distillery here besides their headquarter in Ponatrlier. Nowadays the only legal swiss absinthe Kübler is distilled in Couvet. Of course we made a visit and although everything was closed we took some pictures with our James Bond spy camera…

The home of the Green Fairy can be identified in the small valley “Val de Travers” in the Swiss Jura, next to the French border. Here the Green Fairy was born as Dr. Pierre Ordinaire started to distrbute a special digestive – “Bon Extrait d´Absinthe” – in the 18th century, which soon should become famous under the name ABSINTHE. Now, more than 100 years later, the little town Boveresse in the Val de Travers organizes every year an absinthe festival – “La Fete de l´Absinthe”. Well, to name it a festival is almost a bit exaggerated, moreover it is a fair for the locals of the Valley. You can find some antique sellers who present their absinthiana collections, such as antique spoons, glasses and fontaines. Also absinthe candies such as absinthe ice cream, absinthe pudding and absinthe chocolates are offered, and the only “legal” absinthe Kübler with 45% alcohol is served. The absinthe prohibition is still active in Switzerland, therefore the festival is more of a family reunion, which demonstrates the deep connections the valley has to its culture, the Green Fairy…